1. Field of the invention
This invention relates generally to the field of applying a strapping material about an article. More specifically, it relates to a method and apparatus for applying a limp, flexible strapping material about various sized articles, wherein the strap may have identifying indicia printed thereon.
1. Description of the Prior Art
In general, devices for applying wire or metal straps around an article are well known. They usually consist of some means to cause the wire or metallic strapping material to traverse along a predetermined path around the article to be strapped and means to draw the strapping material tight around the article prior to crimping or otherwise fastening the ends of the strap together. However, such devices which are capable of applying a strap to a wide range of articles accomplish this by drawing excess strapping material from the source and the excess material must be subsequently drawn back or retracted to apply adequate tension to the strap around the article.
The step of drawing the strapping material tightly around the article is required since the strap is usually utilized to retain the article in an assembled position or attached to a device for shipping.
Attempts have also been made to attach identifying indicia to the articles by use of the strapping material. This usually takes the form of separate tags bearing the desired indicia and attached to the strapping material. The tags may be attached after the strap has been applied to the article or pre-assembled on the strapping material. Assembly of the indicia tags after the strapping has been applied is undesirable since it requires another operational step which increases handling time and costs. Pre-assembly of the identification tag is equally disadvantageous since it usually requires the fabrication of predetermined lengths of strapping material. This results in wastage of material when the strap is applied to an article of less than maximum size, again increasing handling costs.
The problem of attaching identifying indicia to a great many, various sized and shaped articles, in the minimum possible time, at minimum cost has assumed monumental proportions in the transportation industry. Airplanes, trains and buses usually all require the storage of baggage in a special compartment separated from the passenger area. This necessitates the use of baggage handling equipment which will attach identifying indicia to the baggage to assure that it is routed to the proper destination.
In the past, this has been accomplished by attaching tags to the handle of the baggage, or by attaching the tags to the baggage itself by means of straps encircling the baggage. In the former case, the tags are not readily readable in all of the bag orientations and are also easily separable from the bag. They are required to be manually atttached to the baggage, resulting in increased baggage handling time and increased cost. Also, the tags thusly attached are not capable of use with present day mechanical/optical machines which read the indicia and automatically route the baggage accordingly, thus also increasing the baggage handling time.
The system wherein the tags are attached to the baggage by straps encircling the bags also suffers from similar drawbacks. In most cases the straps are manually attached about the baggage, resulting in increased baggage handling time and inflated cost. Also, if a fixed length strap is utilized, it must obviously be designed for the largest practible bag and, therefore, results in much wasted material when utilized on a smaller size bag. The tags are usually not visually readable in all bag orientations, and may be separated from the strap during rough baggage handling operation, thus defeating their purpose. It is also known to utilize a heat shrinkable strap material having an indicia bearing tag attached thereto to indicate the proper baggage handling route. The strap is manually attached about the bag and subsequently passes through a heat applying operation so as to shrink the strap about the bag to prevent separation therefrom. This identification system not only suffers from the aforementioned drawbacks of high cost, since the heat shrinkable strap material is relatively expensive, but requires an extra handling step to apply heat to the baggage to cause the baggage to shrink. There is also the possibility of causing heat damage to the bag itself or its contents.